I’ve been telling my partner for years that I’m going bald. OK, I’m not going bald bald – I have a load of thick, curly hair – but my hairline is definitely thinning. At first, I put it down to pandemic stress; the first time I noticed my locks were receding was during the Eat Out To Help Out scheme. At the time, I decided perhaps it was a hair type/race/genetic thing – both my sister and I have always had a lot of baby hairs and we’ve got a mixture of thick, coily strands and much finer, ‘whiter’ hair. After a while, I chose to simply ignore it. Maybe this is just my hair pattern now.

And then, I was invited to have an extensive health checkup by Effect Doctors. Its Well Person Advanced test looks at a range of biomarkers to determine your current health status and risk of disease, including thyroid function, vitamin D levels, cholesterol and ovarian, fallopian and uterine cancer markers.  

I don’t know about you, but I only ever visit the GP when something is wrong. I’ll go for my smear when asked but, generally, I only ever get specific tests for specific problems, like a scan to see if my gallstone was still rolling around or a blood test to check my vitamin B12 levels after an at-home test claimed I had abnormally high amounts of the stuff swilling around my system (especially odd, given I’m a long-time vegan). 

Even when my periods stopped for three years, I wasn’t offered an extensive checkup. GPs don’t have the time and resources to conduct in-depth, diagnostic tests – let alone speculative MOTs.

By the time you reach my age (33), however, you do start to wonder – and occasionally worry – about your body. If I want to have a baby at some point, I need to know that I’m in good shape. Both of my parents have chronic conditions – am I bound to develop them too? To continue improving in my running, should I be tweaking my diet or lifestyle? I really try to be as healthy as possible but am I getting it all right – and how much is within my control? 

The Well Person test promises to answer at least some of those questions, so I heads down to Greek Street in Soho where Effect Doctors is based. On arrival, Dr William Buxton settles me in a seat for a moment before measuring my waist and hips, taking my height and checking my weight. I’m sure you could ask them not to tell you your metrics if you really didn’t want to know them, but this test is looking at a whole range of biomarkers, and we know that the hip-to-waist ratio is important for determining visceral fat (the stuff that sits on your vital organs) content. BMI may be an imprecise tool but again, when used in the context of a full range of blood results and other readings, weight does have some bearing on your overall health.

Anyway, I’m on the second day of my period and feeling bloating and exhausted, so I’m hardly thrilled to step on the scales or have my belly measured. Still, we move.

Next, I have my blood pressure taken before Dr Buxton takes what feels like a lot of blood. Vile after vile, he keeps draining away… and then it’s all over. I’m in and out within 15 minutes, and I don’t even have the usual bruise that tends to follow a blood test.  

Seven days later, I receive a multi-paged report via email. My BMI and external body measurements are great. My vitamin and mineral levels are decent; thyroid function excellent (good to know as my mum has a thyroid condition). Bone health is optimal, and inflammation and tumour markers are normal. But it’s not all good news.

First off, my cholesterol is slightly on the high side – and this isn’t the first test to say that. I had a blood test about 10 years ago just after I graduated from uni after four years of pasta bakes and vodka Boosts. For the past six years, I’ve been a mostly sober vegan marathon runner who never eats takeaways, barely has fake meat and tries to eat as many plants as possible. And yet, my cholesterol is still elevated.  

When Dr Buxton rings to chat my through my results, he suggests that I consult a dietitian who might be able to provide more answers. My blood pressure is also slightly elevated – and my dad, grandma, uncles and grandfather have all lived with high blood pressure (some dying from it). Dr Buxton also flags that it might be high after walking up the stairs to the clinic and feeling slightly nervous about having tests done.

But the really interesting result is my ferritin levels. On the report, they look normal but Dr Buxton says they’re far below where they need to be.

“The result which isn’t good is your ferritin level,” he explains. “Ferritin is your stores of iron and even though physiologically having a ferritin level of 24.8 is OK – albeit really low down the normal scale – women often report of low energy, low mood and hair loss at that level. I would suggest that you need to start oral iron supplementation as soon as possible.” 

That’s interesting; I was put on very high-strength iron supplements for two months earlier this year and had just finished the course before having this test. When I first started taking the supplements, I found myself cutting down on the amount of coffee I drink and, for the first time since school, stopped craving ice. I also stopped developing very itchy, bumpy rashes, which is quite a common symptom of anaemia.

Perhaps foolishly, I’d assumed that being prescribed supplements for a certain amount of time meant that your levels would be ‘normal’ by the end of the course. I’ve not bothered to ask for a repeat prescription. But my hairline – and ferritin levels – suggest otherwise.

“You must be on iron supplements, and I’d suggest that you need to be on it for at least six months. Really, you should have ferritin levels of around 80… and you’re on 24 at the moment.”

I mention my thin hairline and Dr Buxton immediately agrees: “Yes, it’s probably something to do with iron deficiency.” 

“My main take home message to you is if you want to really perfect your results, you need to be back on the iron tablets.”

On reflection, my last few periods have really wiped me out. I’m energised all month long and exhausted for the first few days of my bleed. If you’ve been living with anaemia for a while, you barely realise that you’re not functioning optimally.

If anything, this test has proved that if you can afford to have it done, a health MOT may answer questions you’ve had but not pushed to have answered. I want to ensure that I don’t end up developing the heart issues other family members have had, and while I’m still young, I want my hair to feel as full and thick as possible. We can rectify health issues if we know what we’re dealing with. The problem is that too many of us are living in the dark.  

Images: Getty